Portable polishing device



June 10, 1969 J v, ZACCONE 3,448,476

PORTABLE POLISHING DEVICE Filed March 6, 1967 mvcnTon: JOSEPH V. 'ZACC ONE ATTYS.

United States Patent US. Cl. 15-97 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable polishing machine having an actuating means including a drive shaft, a housing mounted on the drive shaft for rotation thereby, a pivot shaft rotatably carried by the housing having an axis parallel to, but offset radially from the axis of the drive shaft and a polishing head detachably affixed mounted to said pivot shaft. The housing is counterbalanced by a weight, the center of gravity of which is diametrically opposed to the axis of the pivot shaft, the position of the weight being adjustable radially in a plane through the axis of the pivot shaft and center of gravity of the weight to provide a truly balanced assembly. The polishing head is detachable so that it may be readily changed when desired.

This invention relates to polishing machines and in particular to an improved hand operated polishing machine particularly useful for rubbing waxes applied to the exterior surfaces of automobile bodies. Most of the waxes which provide a truly durable finish on automobile exterior surfaces require a substantial amount of rubbing after the wax has been applied to the surface. It has been found that those waxes which are available on the market which rub ofl? easily do not provide a durable worthwhile finish. Of course, the difliculty in using the better waxes is that the job of bufiing them down is time consuming and laboriously hard if done by hand.

Some of the rubbing machines on the market now for finishing or rubbing down wax applied to automobiles have several disadvantages. For example, in addition to being bulky and difficult to manipulate because of their size and complexity, operators have experienced that they do not impart the desired swirl-free, streak-free and smear-free finish. In other Words, these prior machines have a tendency to walk or skitter along the surface being buffed and are in general difficult to control, walking or skittering meaning the tendency of the polishing head to move off the desired course of movement directed by the operator. Consequently, in an effort to control the direction of the rubbing machine, the operator usually has to exert an undue pressure and the result of this is that the finish is not uniform, too much pressure in some cases resulting in complete removal of the wax. Furthermore, in these prior machines, it is necessary to change the bonnet on the polishing head frequently because of wear due to the undue pressure required to stabilize the machine.

Furthermore, it has been found that these prior rubbing or finishing machines are not truly balanced and engagement of the polishing head on the work produces vibrations which make it extremely diificult for the operator to handle the machine. Additionally, in machines of this type, it is desirable to change the size of the bonnet support head depending on the type of work being finished.

3,448,476 Patented June 10, 1969 These prior machines, because of their complicated construction, are difiicult and time consuming to disassemble to change the bonnet support head.

With the foregoing in mind, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable hand polishing machine characterized by novel features of construction and arrangement which imparts a hard, gleaming, glass-like shine to the surface being buffed without any swirls, streaks, smears or burns.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel portable polishing machine which is of comparatively simplified construction and is comparatively light so that it is easy to manipulate and may be operated over long periods without repair or maintenance.

A further obeject of the present invention is to provide a hand polishing machine which has a novel arrangement of parts whereby the machine does not have a tendency to walk or skitter around and which exerts a substantially even and uniform pressure on the surface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable polishing machine which in operation produces negligible vibration by reason of its novel construction.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel hand polishing machine comprised of comparatively few parts which may be easily and quickly assembled thereby facilitating, for example, removal and replacement of the bonnet and bonnet mounting piece when necessary.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hand polishing apparatus including adjustable balancing means so that the balance of the device may be accurately set and adjusted when desired to compensate for the various speeds at which the polishing device may be used and differences in mass of the polishing head when changing from one size bonnet support wheel to another.

These and other objects of the present invention and the various features and details of the operation and construction thereof are hereinafter more fully set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hand polishing machine;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the polishing head;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view partly in section of another embodiment of hand polishing machine in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, the polishing machine as generally designated by the numeral 10, comprises a housing 12 having a central bore 14 to receive the drive shaft 16 of a conventional hand operated variable speed electric motor 18 being suitably secured thereto in the present instance by set screws 20. An axial bore 22 offset from the central bore 14 is provided in the housing which mounts a pivot shaft 24 which rotatably supports at its lower end a polishing head 26. In the present instance, the pivot shaft 24 is of a stepped configuration comprising an upper section 240 mounted in the offset axial bore 22, an intermediate section of slightly larger diameter 24!) on which is mounted the inner ring 29 of a ball bearing assembly 30 and a lower section 240 of a greater diameter than the intermediate and upper sections which is rotatably journalled in a sleeve 31 press fitted in the wheel 28 of the polishing head. The lower terminal end of the shaft extension has an annular groove to receive a snap ring 33 to hold the parts in the assembled relation shown in FIG. 2.

The polishing head, in the present instance, comprises a disc or wheel 28 supported on the lower eXtensiOn of the pivot shaft by means of the ball bearing assembly 30, the outer ring 35 of which is mounted in a recess 32 in the upper portion of the disc 28. In the present instance, the disc has a circumferentially extending radially outwardly projecting rib 36 of semi-circular cross section which seats in an annular groove 42 of the support member 38 whereby bonnet support member 38 may be de tachably secured to the Wheel 28.

To this end, the bonnet support member has a pocket 40 in its upper face with a complementary groove 42 therein, the lower face of the pocket having a recessed portion 44 to accommodate the lower projection of the pivot shaft 24. This bonnet support member is preferably made of a hard rubber with a certain amount of resilience so that it may be snapped in place over the wheel 28 and frictionally held in place. In the present instance, the lower face of the bonnet support member has a disc-like layer 46 of soft rubber to provide a resilient backing surface for the bonnet 50 which is mounted over it. The bonnet is preferably made of a soft felt material and is bag-like in shape having a band 52 of resilient material such as rubber so that it is held in place in the manner shown in FIG. 2 and yet may be easily removed when it is desired to replace the bonnet.

In the present instance, a balancing member in the form of a disc is mounted to the lower face of the housing 12, the disc having a series of radially spaced openings 53 whereby a weight 54 may be secured at selected locations radially of the disc at a point in line with the pivot shaft 24 and disposed on the opposite side of the drive shaft 16. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the center of gravity of the weight 54 lies diametrically opposed to the axis BB of the pivot shaft 24 and in a plane C-C through the axis BB and the rotational axis AA of the drive shaft 16.

In the operation of the hand polishing machine described above, the operator simply engages the switch S1 of the electric motor when he is ready to use the machine-Engagement of the switch effects rotary movement of the shaft 16 which in turn imparts rotational movement of the housing 12 about the axis AA of the shaft 16. Rotational movement of the housing effects movement of the pivot shaft 24 and the polishing head 26 as a crank about the axis AA. The polishing head 26, since it is freely rotatable on the shaft 24, the axis BB of which is eccentric to the axis AA, will rotate about the axis BB by reaction of the polishing head against the work surface. It is noted that the counter-weight 54 is selectively positioned at a predetermined radial distance from the aXis of the drive shaft 16 depending on the speed of operation and size of the polishing head to provide a truly balanced assembly. This arrangement insures a minimum of vibration and permits easy control of the direction of movement of the polishing head by the operator without exerting undue pressure against the work surface. It is noted that the machine is used to apply wax initially using a waxing bonnet and then the bonnet is simply replaced with a polishing bonnet to buff and finish the polishing operation. Thus, the operator may move the polishing machine in a selected manner to provide a polished finish free of swirls, streaks and burns.

As noted above, if it is desired or necessary to change to a different size polishing wheel, the bonnet support assembly, which is made of a resilient material, may be easily detached from the wheel 28 simply by prying the outer peripheral edge downwardly whereby the annular rib 36 holding the support member in place releases the support member. Assembly of a smaller or larger bonnet support member is done simply by snapping it over the wheel 28.

There is illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 inclusive a form of portable polishing apparatus inaccordance with the present invention. The apparatus which is generally designated by the numeral includes a housing 102,'a shaft 104 supported centrally of the housing, which in the present instance is adapted to be detachably held in place'in a chuck 106 of a conventional hand operated electric motor not shown. A pivot shaft 108 is rotatably journalled in the housing 102 radially offset from the axis XX of the drive shaft 104 and mounts the polishing head assembly 11 0 at its lower end. In the present instance the polishing head assembly 110 includes a disc-like member 112 held in place at the lower end, of the pivot shaft 108 by means of a screw 114 and a bonnet support member 116 detachably carried by the disc 112.

The outerperiphery of the disc 112 has anoutwa'rdly diverging conical sidewall section 120 and the bonnet support member 116 has a pocket 122 in its upper face of a configuration permitting it to be snapped over the disc and snugly held in place, the bonnet support member 116 preferably being made of a resilient material such as rubber. The bonnet support member 116 is addition-- ally held in place by a dished washer engaging the conical sidewall 132 of an identation in the lower face of the bonnet support member 116 having a central opening 134 to accommodate the screw 114. The bonnet 124 which is of a similar construction to the bonnet described above is bag-shaped and has a resilient band to hold it in place over the support member. The assembly further includes a counterbalancing means and to this end the housing 102 is provided with an arcuate pocket 140 in its upper face within which is supported a counterbalancing member 142 of a shape conforming to the shape of the pocket and which is held in place by means of a screw 144. As'shown in FIG. 5, the center of gravity of the counterbalancing member lies in a plane ZZ passing through the rotational axis X-X of the drive shaft 104 and the rotational axis Y-Y of the pivot I shaft 108, the counterbalancing member being disposed diametrically opposed from the pivot shaft 108. Depending on the speed of operation and the size of the bonnet assembly, the weight of the counterbalancing member may be selectively varied simply by using counterbalancing members of different weights.

The portable polishing apparatus of FIGS. 3-5-inc1usive operates exactly the same as the embodimentsshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, rotation of the drive shaft 104 effects rotary movement of the housing 102 and in turn the-bonnet assembly rotates about the axis of the pivot shaft 108 when it is engaged witha work surface. The bonnet support member 110 is easily replaceablesimply by unscrewing the screw 114 from the lower end of the pivot shaft and by removing the disc 112'from the pocket in the support member 110. The disc 112 is then placed in another support member and simply re-assembled to the machine by turning the screw 114 into the shaft 108.

I claim:

1. A portable polishingmachine adaptedo't be actuated by an electrical motor having a drive shaft comprising a housing secured to said drive shaft for rotation therewith, a pivot shaft rotatably journalled in-said housing for rotation about an axis offset from the axis of the drive shaft, 9. polishing head assembly fixedly securedto the lower ,portion of said pivot shaft mounted for rotation relative to said housing, means including a pocket in said housing for mounting therein a counterbalancing member having a center ofgravity in a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the polishing head and the axis of rotation of the drive shaft and located diametrically opposed to the axis of rotation of the polishing head, means for securing the counterbalancing member in said pocket, said polishing head assembly including a disc- .5 6 like member and a bonnet support member detachably References Cited secured to said disc-like member, said disc-like member UNITED STATES PATENTS having an outwardly divergent conical lower edge portion and said bonnet support member having a pocket 2331067 10/1880 Buzzeu 15 28X therein with a sidewall conforming to the contour of the 2,238,096 4/1941 Bake? et 15-97 X lower edge portion of said disc-like member to snugly 5 2,967,315 1/1961 Helblg et 15-49 embrace the same and wherein said means securing said polishing head to said pivot shaft includes a dished WALTER SCHEEL Pnmary Exammer' washer engageable in an indentation in the lower face of L. G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner.

the bonnet support member and a screw member engaging said dished washer and threadedly mounted in said 10 US. Cl. X.R.

pivot shaft. 51170 

